Posts by Chuck Curtis

(Almost) Raising the mast

View of the boat from the bow. Needs the mildew cleaned off, but most of the topside hardware is installed

So, I couldn’t get it up this evening. No not that… This is a (mostly) family friendly blog. I tried to step the mast tonight after work, but couldn’t get it all the way up. The standing rigging isn’t adjusted properly, and it was too cold (and dinner time) to spend much time playing around adjusting the rigging.

Plus it is a bitch to step the mast (okay, so not so family friendly tonight). I need a better system for raising the mast. I’ll have to build some sort of support to put on the stern of the boat to help raise the mast. Maybe use one of the halyards to help pull the mast up once it is part way up.

I’m getting close to getting the boat ready for the water. The goal is still April 17th. But not if it is still this cold.

We had a tease of warm weather this Saturday. But only a tease. This week has been back to cold and windy. However, I can tell that spring is coming. The evenings are cold, but not bitter cold.

I was able to get a lot finished on Saturday. Mark came over to work in the woodshop and brought his 12-year old nephew to hang out. His nephew, Greg, was a huge help on the boat. One of the biggest pain in the a$$ is to get the bolts tightened on the topside hardware. It requires two people, one below and one topside. Will and Ben are a little too young to be helpful (and not very patient) and Susanna is super busy with school.

In a couple of hours we got most of the hardware reinstalled.

Sunday I installed the chainplate that had been removed for the fiberglass repair on the deck. I also removed the mast post and built a new one from sapele. The old one was pine and had rotted on the bottom. The sapele is much nicer looking. And heavier.

New chainplate installed on the starboard side.

I’ve been working on rewiring the electrical system in the evenings this week. I hope to have the electrical finished this weekend. I have to still install the toe rails, but that needs adult help to get installed – hopefully I can talk Susanna into taking time this weekend to help some more (she already put in an hour or so this week helping with the toe rails).

I also need to figure out how to step the mast without killing myself. Or breaking the boat. I’ll post more pictures of each project as I make progress.